Contract dispute at heart of Prey 2 delay, claims source

After news about possible cancellation of Prey 2, it is revealed why the developers and the game are not actually split, but only on a break.

In fact, it has been claimed that there has been no work done on the game since November.

According to Shacknews, an anonymous source has claimed that development was stopped over concerns about the contract, leading to Human Head Studios stopping work to try to smooth out a better deal with publisher Bethesda‘s parent company, ZeniMax.

The source continued to say that on March 1 the team felt confident on negotiations, but matters took a turn on March 2. There has been no news since then about how the contract modifications have progressed.

About the development so far, Bethesda said, “Development of Prey 2 has not been cancelled but the game will not be released in 2012 as planned. The delay is due to the fact that game development has not progressed satisfactorily this past year, and the game does not currently meet our quality standards.”

There is no official word yet on how Prey 2 will be continued until it reaches store shelves.

But to weary fans, Bethesda said, “Prey 2 has shown great promise and we regret disappointing our fans. We have made a substantial investment in game development to deliver the experience fans want. We are determined only to release the AAA game that fans rightfully expect, and are unwilling to compromise our quality standards to meet a release schedule.”